The Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3) is in the grip of the International Space Station‘s Canadarm2 robotic arm during its relocation and attachment to the station’s Harmony module on March 26, 2017.

The adapter was prepared for this move on Friday, March 24, 2017 during a successful spacewalk by Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency).

The second spacewalk by Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA, which began at 7:29 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, will finalize the PMA-3 cable connections on Harmony.

This relocation readies the PMA-3 for the future installation of the new International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3) set to be delivered on a future cargo mission to the orbiting laboratory. The IDA-3 will accommodate commercial crew vehicle dockings and provide the pressurized interface between the station and the adapter.